“These podcasts deliver the experience, the "knowing," vs. the conceptual understanding of the meditative states at the core of Buddhist awakening. This difference, which Ken harps on repeatedly, is analogous to the difference between knowing how to swim and having the theoretical understanding of the same. Only one is helpful if your boat is sinking, like ours is. Ken (everybody calls him Ken on these tapes) translated for the eminent Kalu Rinpoche and brought the definitive volume on Mind Training THE GREAT PATH OF AWAKENING to the West. The classes and retreats these podcasts are drawn from perform another, equally remarkable translation. They bringing the insular, self-referential Tibetan traditions into the individualistic, wide open context of us here and now. From this perspective, many of the things that have stymied me seem to be cultural formulations fit for Tibetans. Ken has extracted the essence and distilled them into versions I get. I also get a lot out of just his clarification of translation points (like what "self-liberating thoughts" means, for example), and again, the actual experience of the "shift," and coaching in staying in the recognition of simple emptiness and clarity. "Knowing" as opposed to thinking. A little spark is worth more than a lot of discussion on what fires look like. This is really, really good.”
Laksminkara via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
08/15/07